It is well known that a cable tunnel management system (CATMS), usually located above the ground level, manages facilities and workers within a closed passage such as a tunnel so as to protect them from disaster in case of a trouble such as a fire, harmful gas leakage, water intrusion or the like within the passage. In general, such a CATMS includes a central concentrated center (CCC) and a remote station (RS) module having a plurality of RS units which are incorporated above ground. The CATMS further includes an auxiliary (AUX) module having a number of sets of AUX devices and a number of sets of sensors which are installed within the closed passage, each AUX device of each of their sets being connected with a corresponding RS unit and also coupled with a corresponding set of sensors.
Specifically, when a predetermined start instruction is given by the CATMS's operator, the CCC issues a management start signal to each AUX device in said each of their sets through a corresponding RS unit to initiate a management process for facilities and workers in the closed passage. In response to the management start signal, each AUX device starts to receive sensing values measured by a corresponding set of sensors coupled thereto to generate and transfer formatted sensing data to a corresponding RS unit via a cable. The formatted sensing data includes overhead information which has data representing the type thereof, address data of each AUX device and data indicating the sequence of each sensor and sensing values obtained therefrom. The sensors in said each of their sets are capable of sensing a person, water level, fire, gas, temperature/humidity and door within the passage, and operation status of each of components included therein, respectively.
Each RS unit, which is connected between the CCC and each AUX device in a corresponding set of them, serves to add address data of said each RS unit to the formatted sensing data from said each AUX device to provide newly formatted sensing data to the CCC. Using the newly formatted sensing data, the CCC decides whether a trouble is detected within the closed passage, wherein the trouble may indicate a fire, a harmful gas leakage, a water intrusion, or the like within the passage. That is to say, the CCC first extracts the sensing values from the newly formatted sensing data based on the overhead information included therein and compares each of the extracted sensing values with a corresponding predetermined threshold value. Through such a comparison, if it is decided that a trouble is detected within the passage, the CCC displays warning information indicating the trouble on a monitor of a terminal therein and sounds a warning by using an alarm device contained therein so that personnel in the CCC are warned of the trouble or emergency in the passage.
When the CATMS' operator wishes to inform the emergency to all personnel within the passage and to predetermined organizations such as a firehouse, government and public office, and related sections in the CATMS, the CCC sequentially announces emergency guide information to all the workers through the corresponding RS units and AUX devices and to the organizations via corresponding telephone lines, wherein such a sequential announcement may be carried out by following an instruction issued by the CATMS's operator, which is very inconvenient and time consuming process. Further, in order to fix the trouble in the closed passage, the personnel involved usually enter the troubled area in person to take a series of actions needed to mend the trouble, resulting in a prolonged processing time. These whole time consuming processes may cause significant delay in taking steps to mend the trouble, thereby increasing a chance for a serious mishappening.